TikTok expands Family Pairing feature with new parental controls

LOS ANGELES -- TikTok is expanding its Family Pairing feature with new tools designed to give parents more control and ensure a safer experience for teens on the platform, the company announced Tuesday.

TikTok first rolled out the Family Pairing feature in 2020. The safety feature "allows parents, guardians, and teens to customize their safety settings based on individual needs," according to the company's website. Parents and guardians can link their account to their teen's account in order to set controls such as screen time, direct messaging, content filters and more.

The latest updates introduce two key features: the ability to block access to TikTok during specific times and increased visibility into a teen's follower list, according to the company's announcement Tuesday.

"Since launching Family Pairing - TikTok's parenting controls - five years ago, we've continually added new features based on feedback from families, as well as guidance from leading experts," the announcement read. "With increased visibility into their teen's network, parents will be better equipped to have ongoing conversations and help their teens develop the digital literacy skills they need."

One of the standout additions is the Time Away feature, allowing parents to set specific periods when their teen can't access the app.

Whether it's during family meals, school hours or bedtime, the customizable tool helps ensure breaks from the platform. Teens can request extra time, but the final decision remains with parents.

The update also offers greater transparency into teens' social connections. Parents can now see who their teen is following, who follows them and which accounts have been blocked. This added visibility aims to foster open discussions about online interactions and help teens manage their digital relationships safely, the company said.

TikTok also said it is introducing new features, including a wind-down function, to promote healthier digital habits.

This will prompt teens under 16 with full-screen reminders and calming music if they're still on the app past 10 p.m. The company is also testing meditation exercises to encourage better bedtime routines.

The wind-down feature will be available Tuesday, but the meditation component will roll out in a few weeks, with the exact date to be announced.

Since the launch of Family Pairing, TikTok has continued to expand its parental controls.

Parents now have access to over 15 adjustable settings, including options to enable a STEM-focused feed, customize screen time limits for weekdays and weekends, and reset a teen's account to private if it was previously public.

Looking ahead, TikTok said it plans to introduce even more safety measures, including a feature that allows teens to notify a trusted adult when reporting content that may violate platform guidelines.

By prioritizing safety and well-being, TikTok said it aims to create a more balanced online environment for young users while providing parents with better oversight.

As these features roll out, the company said it remains committed to refining its approach based on feedback and expert recommendations.

"We constantly work to simplify things for caregivers so they can feel confident supporting their teen," the company said in the announcement. "It's intentionally not specific to any single app or service and includes suggested agreements for when devices and parental supervision tools are used. Throughout 2025, we'll continue to make deliberate decisions to prioritize teen safety and well-being to continue to keep TikTok safe, especially for teens."

TikTok and other social media platforms have come under criticism in the past for the potential negative risks they may pose for young people, particularly when it comes to mental health and privacy issues.

Scrutiny increased in 2021, after an internal Facebook study was leaked by whistleblower Frances Haugen that showed the detrimental effects certain types of Instagram content had on teen girls. That same year, an investigation by the Wall Street Journal found TikTok's algorithm had "exposed numerous teenagers to videos that encourage drastic, unhealthy weight-loss measures and eating disorders," and "over time, increasingly shows teen users unmoderated content, oftentimes related to self-harm and suicide."

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg responded to the whistleblower allegations in a blog post at the time, claiming that accusations the company prioritized "profit over safety and well-being" were "just not true."

"We care deeply about issues like safety, well-being and mental health," the statement read. "It's difficult to see coverage that misrepresents our work and our motives. At the most basic level, I think most of us just don't recognize the false picture of the company that is being painted."

Meanwhile, a TikTok spokesperson said at the time that the Journals experiment doesnt reflect the experience most people have on their site, but that even one person having that experience is one too many.

TikTok has a minimum age requirement of 13, however no parental consent verification is required. On its website, the social media platform states that in which they are given private accounts that are unable to "comment, share, or send and receive messages." Videos produced under these accounts can be created but not posted, according to the company, and screen time is limited to one hour.

TikTok says it also restricts certain content for users under 18, including content dealing with disordered eating and body image, dangerous activities and challenges, nudity and sexually suggestive content, graphic or shocking content, gambling, and alcohol, tobacco and drugs.

The Justice Department previously sued TikTok in August last year, accusing the company of "knowingly" permitting children to "create regular TikTok accounts and to create, view, and share short-form videos and messages with adults and others on the regular TikTok platform." The department also accused TikTok of collecting and retaining "a wide variety of personal information from these children without notifying or obtaining consent from their parents."

"Even for accounts that were created in 'Kids Mode' (a pared-back version of TikTok intended for children under 13), the defendants unlawfully collected and retained children's email addresses and other types of personal information," the Justice Department said at the time. "Further, when parents discovered their children's accounts and asked the defendants to delete the accounts and information in them, the defendants frequently failed to honor those requests."

DOJ officials also accused TikTok of having "deficient and ineffectual internal policies and processes for identifying and deleting TikTok accounts created by children."

A TikTok spokesperson disputed the allegations at the time, saying in a statement that many "relate to past events and practices that are factually inaccurate or have been addressed."

"We are proud of our efforts to protect children, and we will continue to update and improve the platform," the statement read. "To that end, we offer age-appropriate experiences with stringent safeguards, proactively remove suspected underage users, and have voluntarily launched features such as default screentime limits, Family Pairing, and additional privacy protections for minors."